Setting the Record Straight
by SPT
Summary: Gibbs and Tony get a few things straight at the end of "Hung Out To Dry".
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIs or its characters, yada, yada, yada**

**Notes: This is my first NCIS fic. Reviews are most welcome and appreciated, but please be constructive.**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs' eyes narrowed was he watched his senior agent limp towards the elevator; how in the hell had he missed that? On the other hand, Tony could simply be looking for a little sympathy after being _pushed out of a plane_ a few hours ago.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony pulled up short and Gibbs would have to have been more blind than he already was to miss the wince that followed the sudden movement. "Yeah Boss?"

Gibbs' only answer was to glare pointedly at Tony's left leg that the younger man was holding aloft, the toe barely brushing the floor.

DiNozzo followed his boss's gaze down to his leg with wide, innocent eyes, as if this was the first he'd noticed it. "It's nothing boss."

Gibbs just shook his head slightly at the act; there was a reason Tony was the best undercover agent NCIS had. "Doesn't look like nothing," he growled out quietly, letting his agent know that he wasn't in the mood for games. "Rough landing?"

Shrugging, Tony allowed a humorless laugh that quickly turned into another wince as the movement sent a spike of pain through his battered body. He plastered a cocky smile to his face, "actually, the landing was textbook considering the terrain, even if I do say so myself." He sighed knowing that Gibbs wouldn't let this go until he got then entire truth, "-it was the ravine I fell down trying to get my chute out of the tree that was the problem."

Jethro's eyes narrowed further; the recovery team had mentioned that they had found the agent in a heavily wooded area, but nothing had been said about him being injured in any way.

"You get Ducky to check you out?"

"Uh Boss, it's 0200, Ducky and everyone else were long gone by the time we got back."

Gibbs stood immediately and strode past Tony to the elevator, "ok, let's go then."

"Go?" Tony turned in confusion, "go where?" He hurried toward the elevator that Gibbs was holding open for him as fast as his one healthy leg could carry him.

"ER"

DiNozzo stopped two feet short of the doors, a stony expression with just the barest hint of fear settling on his face. "Boss, I'm not going to the hospital; I told you I'm fine." Considering the highlight of his twenty-hour day was getting tossed out of a plane at 6,000 feet, he wasn't about to cap it off with a memory-invoking trip to the emergency room.

"_Damn it, DiNozzo! _I don't-"

"No Boss."

Gibbs was taken aback by the bite of steel that had entered his agent's voice, and he was rarely surprised. Taking in DiNozzo's defensive stance, he quickly thought back to the other times Tony had been injured since joining NCIS. He'd managed to avoid the hospital all of those times too; if he didn't skip out on getting checked out all together, he would finally consent to seeing Ducky after running through every excuse in the book not to. Thankfully, in the two years he'd worked with Gibbs, Tony had yet to be injured worse than the ME's skills and equipment were capable of handling.

"Then I'm calling Ducky back in."

Tony blinked, unable to believe that he'd actually won that easily, but still not happy about the impending examination. "I'd rather just go home and sleep-" he stopped as Gibbs look-of-death intensified, "-or I could just sleep at my desk until Ducky gets here."

Gibbs didn't move from his place in front of Tony's desk as he watched the younger man gingerly settle into his chair. The frown returned to his face as Tony's eyes slipped closed, seemingly of their own accord, "did you hit your head?"

"Boss, I'm fine." DiNozzo restated his mantra from the last few minutes without even bothering to open his eyes.

"Did. You. Hit. Your. Head."

Tony recognized that tone of voice as the one that usually occurred right before his boss truly lost his temper. Deciding he didn't have the energy to deal with a _really_ pissed off Gibbs, he opened his eyes. "Boss, I was still wearing the jump helmet; I didn't lose consciousness, no blurred vision, no nausea, and nothing more than a mild headache."

Gibbs forced back the smile that threatened to bloom at his agent's statement. "I'll wake you when Ducky gets here."

Jethro commanded himself to relax as he headed back to his desk; Tony may not be _fine_ as he kept trying to assert, but the younger man was alive and in one piece. The fifteen seconds between seeing Tony pushed out of the plane and seeing his chute open had ranked right up there as some of the scariest in his life. He knew he'd never really shown it, but DiNozzo had found a special place in his heart- somewhere between son and best friend.

He felt bad getting Ducky out of bed, but the Doctor should be used to it after so many years of working for NCIS. That and something in Tony's eyes had convinced him that he would be better of getting checked out by the ME than spending a couple of hours in the emergency room at Bethesda. The time stretched on as he watched DiNozzo 'sleep' with a critical eye. The younger agent was about as close to being asleep as he was right now; the slightest twitches and lines of pain around his eyes giving him away to anyone that knew him well enough to see it. And Gibbs was one of the few people that did.

"Why?"

Sighing, Tony didn't even bother to pretend that he was asleep or that his didn't know exactly what Gibbs was talking about. "Got my reasons Boss." Even without opening his eyes he knew Gibbs was staring at him, still waiting for a real answer. He had the distinct feeling that Gibbs knew his background well enough to have an idea _why_, but apparently he wanted Tony to tell him too. "Too many bad memories Boss, nothing good ever happens there."

Gibbs continued to hold Tony's gaze, waiting for more elaboration.

His _extensive_ background check before hiring DiNozzo had revealed a good chunk of the young man's past, but there were still too many holes in it for Gibb's taste. The DiNozzo family had money; money could make a lot of things go away and Tony too many scars- both emotional and physical- that weren't accounted for in his records.

Tony sighed, knowing that Gibbs wasn't going to let this go. "Take your pick Boss: watching my mom die, finding out that my football season was over two games into my senior year at Ohio State, spending days or weeks in there at a time- without a single visitor…" he finished quietly, realizing suddenly that he'd revealed too much. He shifted in the chair, trying unsuccessfully to avoid his boss's penetrating gaze, and winced as the move intensified the throbbing that seemed emanate from his entire body.

"Weeks?"

"I was an accident prone kid." The metaphorical shrug was evident in his voice.

Jethro felt a cold ball of fury form in his chest at all that Tony's statement implied. DiNozzo's earlier words rang in his ears as well- he'd been alone all that time.

"Tony, you know we wouldn't-" he was interrupted by the shrill ring of his cell phone. "Gibbs- yeah Duck, we'll meet you there in a minute." Jethro took a deep breath and lifted his gaze back up to the other man, wondering how in the hell he was going to say this without a large amount of alcohol running through his veins. His resolve crumbed at the look of pure exhaustion on DiNozzo's face; there was no way Tony was up to comprehending a revelation of this magnitude right now. _That_ conversation would have to wait.

He held his hand out to the younger man, "come on, Ducky's waiting on us." Gibbs wrapped Tony's arm over his shoulder and they made the silent trip down to Autopsy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry everyone, but this is a really short chapter. Hopefully I'll get the next one up before the weekend, but no promises- it's kind of an important weekend. Anyway, thanks for all the great reviews and keep them coming.**

Tony released a silent sigh of relief as they reached autopsy and he was helped up onto one of the metal tables that Ducky had, oh so thoughtfully, covered with a thin cotton sheet. He wasn't about to tell Gibbs, but the short trip had elevated the pain levels in his ribs and shoulder to nearly that of his ankle.

Ducky took one look at the senior field agent and let out a sigh of his own; "Anthony, my dear boy, what have you done to yourself now?"

"Hurt my ankle a bit Duck, probably just a sprain," Tony replied, too tired to get defensive about the question or the exasperated tone in which it was asked.

"Yes, well, I will be the judge of that, if you don't mind."

DiNozzo kept his head down and his eyes fixed on the ME's hand's as they began deftly untying and removing his Italian leather shoe. He really did try his best to ignore the piercing gaze burning holes into the top of his head from his silent boss. Tony knew that he was a fairly good actor, enjoyed honing the skill every chance he got, but right now he had to wonder if Gibbs wasn't seeing straight through him. He couldn't help the flinch when the former Marine spoke for the first time since entering Autopsy, the sound echoing in the silent room.

"I'd check the rest of him out too if I were you, Duck."

"Gee, boss you act like you don't trust me." Tony tried to keep his tone light, but neither of the older men missed the inflection of hurt that colored the words.

Gibbs slowly stalked up to his agent, his eyes never leaving the green ones staring back at him. "You're right DiNozzo. When it comes to you telling me you're fine, not a chance in hell I'm going to trust you; you're too much like me." He ignored surprised look on Tony's face as he reached up to lay a hand on the back of the younger man's neck, "but with _everything_ else; yeah Tony, I trust you."

Tony looked into his boss's eye for a long second; seeing the truth reflected there brought a surge of happiness through him. Gibbs truly trusted him, not just to watch his six on the job, but as a friend. DiNozzo knew that he was about as comfortable with Gibbs showing emotion as Gibbs was; "Ducky, I think I might need a CT scan after all. I just hallucinated Gibbs complimenting me."

Jethro let out a playful growl that was anything but and gave his agent's neck a gentle shake; stopping when Tony's mischievous grin turned to a pained wince.

"Right, well it appears I have my work cut out for me then; off with the shirt my boy."

Ducky spent the next twenty minutes poking, prodding, taking x-rays, and generally tisking over the areas of rather impressive bruising on Tony's toned body. By the end of the exam, DiNozzo's eyes were barely open and he was swaying on the table from pure exhaustion. "Jethro, why don't you get young Anthony here settled on my couch while I get these radiographs developed."

"Don't need any help," Tony mumbled as he pushed himself off the table, and continued straight down to the floor.

Gibbs grabbed his arm in time to slow his descent some; "yeah, I can see that." The sarcasm practically dripped from his voice. He gently pulled the injured man to his feet, his tone softening with genuine affection, "let's go DiNozzo."

At that point Tony decided it simply wasn't worth keeping up the act any longer, not like Gibbs and Ducky were buying it anyway. Besides he deserved a little sympathy damn it; it'd been a long day- he was tired, his entire body hurt like hell _and_ he'd been _pushed_ out of a plane. Yup, a little sympathy was definitely in order, especially since he had a couple of people- no, _friends_- that appeared more than willing to give it. This 'snap' decision took him the entire length of the morgue to make and he finally allowed Gibbs to take more of his weight just as the older man was lowering him onto the antique couch in Ducky's office.

Jethro watched with concern as Tony shifted restlessly several times before apparently finding a comfortable position; when he finally settled down Gibbs tucked the old hand-made afghan around him, making sure that his agent's bruised and swollen ankle was elevated and well covered. Satisfied that everything was as it should be, Gibbs settled in to the desk chair a few feet away for what he knew would be a bit of a wait.

"Get some sleep, Tony."

"On it-" he broke off into a wide yawn, "-boss."

A few minutes later Gibbs wasn't surprised to find a half open eye still gazing in his direction, "I'm not going anywhere, Tony. Now get some sleep; that's an order." He was just able to make out the surprised yet grateful look as the green eye slid closed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry guys, another short one, but like I said, big weekend. The last chapter should be up soon. Keep the reviews coming and thanks for the support.**

Ducky took in the scene laid out in front of him with a fond smile; Tony sprawled out on the couch, his mouth open and Gibbs resting peacefully in the desk chair watching over his injured agent. DiNozzo probably didn't know it, but this scene was nearly identical to the ones that had played out every other time Tony had been hurt in the last two years; work related or not. Jethro cared for and worried about all his people, but Ducky had no doubt that Tony was special. As rarely as he ever showed it, DiNozzo had a vulnerable side, a need to be loved and cared for, something that was exactly like honey to a bear for Gibbs.

"Don't even say it, Duck." A brilliantly blue eye was cracked in the ME's direction, "I'm not his father."

"And thank heaven for that." Ducky made a sour face, letting Gibbs know exactly what he thought of DiNozzo Sr. Considering what he knew of Tony's childhood, he'd rather spend the weekend at a serial killer's convention than spend two minutes in a room with that man. On the other hand, Gibbs wasn't the only one trained in hand to hand…

"No Jethro, I think you fit much better into the frame of over-protective big brother, perhaps with a just a hint of reluctant mentor thrown in for good measure."

Gibbs cocked his head, briefly considering Ducky's interpretation of he and Tony's relationship as he stared at the man in question. In truth, he'd spent a good deal of time trying to interpret the feelings he had towards the younger man. He knew he loved Tony, but not in the romantic sense nor was it the way a father should love his son- he'd always felt that had implied an inequality between people. Older brother seemed to fit the bill perfectly; Tony could drive him to distraction without even trying, but there was absolutely _nothing_ Gibbs wouldn't do for him and there was definitely a need to protect involved. However, as with any sibling relationship, to tell Tony how he felt would be 'un-cool'; big brothers were supposed to be gruff, picking on the young sibling without mercy, but they'd beat the ever loving shit out of anyone else that even thought of trying the same thing.

He raised an eyebrow at the ME, "over-protective?"

Ducky let out a quiet chuckle, careful not to rouse DiNozzo; although the fact that the agent had yet to wake was truly a testament to his previous level of fatigue. "Tell me Jethro, have you ever slept while young Anthony was undercover?"

Gibbs ducked his head with a guilty grin, "I worry about all my people Ducky."

"Ah, then answer me this," the ME allowed the corners of his mouth to curl up in a positively evil grin, "did you ever sleep while Stanley was on an undercover assignment?"

Gibbs knew it was time to concede defeat; he'd never worried nearly this much about Stan Burley in the field and Tony was twice the undercover agent Stan had ever been. "Point taken, Duck. So what's the verdict?" He nodded to the radiographs in the doctor's hand.

Ducky let out a small sigh as he held the images up to the light, "well, I'm afraid the lad has fractured the distal end of his fibula." Without looking, he simply knew that Gibbs was giving him the 'what's that mean in English' stare. "He's broken his ankle, Jethro. No displacement though, so he should do fine with a walking boot for several weeks; no crutches needed- thank heaven for small favors."

Both men cringed simultaneously, remembering the last time Tony had been forced to use the infernal things. Apparently, every single- and even some of the married women at NCIS thought that DiNozzo looked incredibly dashing and rather helpless while on crutches. No one had been able to get any work done, the flowers and baked goods had overflowed all their desks; even Tony had begun to complain about it. And DiNozzo in a sling- hell, they might as well shut down the entire building.

After a minute of both men's furtile imaginations running rampant, Ducky continued his report. "He had hairline fractures in two of his ribs and several strained muscles surrounding his left shoulder. I have to admit, I'm not quite sure how he incurred that last injury," he added with a furrowed brow.

"Probably by grabbing that tree to keep myself from taking what would have been a very cold swim," floated quietly from the couch.

Ducky walked quickly over to the afghan-covered lump for a better look at his patient; "Anthony, my dear boy, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fi-" green eyes quickly shifted to Gibbs on the other side of the small room, a silent communication passing between the two. "Kinda fuzzy, pretty sore, but I'll live."

The ME gave a gentle smile, "glad to hear it, my boy. I'll get you fitted for a walking boot, then send you on home and you're to take the rest of the week off." He fixed both Gibbs and Tony with a hard stare.

Gibbs knew better that to defy that look, but apparently DiNozzo still felt the need to object, "Ducky, I don't need any time-"

"The Director gave us all the rest of the week," _or he will_, Gibbs mentally corrected. "No one is coming in until Monday." Jethro had seen that flash of fear in Tony's eyes once again; the fear of replacement because he couldn't do his job, the fear that taking a couple days off would be seen as a weakness. Everytime he saw that look cross his agent's face it made him want to hunt down any and every single person that had helped to put it there.


	4. Chapter 4

"You can take a left… right back there." Tony watched with a confused frown as the car whipped past his street. When the corner was out of sight of the back window he turned back to Gibbs, his finger still pointing in the direction of his apartment, "Uh- Boss?"

The corner of Jethro's mouth turned up in a tolerant smile. "We're not going to your place, DiNozzo; you're staying with me at least until I can keep an eye on you at work Monday."

The look of bewilderment was still evident on his face; Tony simply couldn't understand why Gibbs felt he needed a babysitter. Sure he would have a little trouble getting around and his shoulder and ribs would keep him from lifting anything for awhile, but he was still fully capable of taking care of himself. True, that he had just been pushed out of a plane and that this was probably the worst he'd been hurt since he came to NCIS. Ok, the subluxed shoulder had been bad, but that had been only a week after he'd started and slicing the bottom of his foot open while chasing a suspect had required twenty-two stitches and crutches for two weeks before he could start putting weight on it, but he had been just fine on his own both times. Now to be fair, they had all called to check on him at least once after both incidents and they had watched over him like hawks after both concussions. Despite all this, at no time in the last two years had the Boss ever taken him back to his own house for the duration of his convalescences; something 'hinky' was definitely going on.

"Boss, you don't have to do that, I don't need a babysitter. I'll be fine on my own; always have been always will be."

Gibbs visibly flinched at the last statement; here we go again he thought silently as he remembered their earlier, aborted conversation. "I know you don't _need_ a babysitter, Tony; I know that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself, but you shouldn't _have_ to." He took his eyes off the deserted 

road long enough to connect with DiNozzo's gaze, "I'm taking you back to my place because I _want_ to look after you."

The quiet and disbelieving, "_you do?_" nearly broke Jethro's heart. He tried his best to keep his rage from reflecting on his face, but right now he felt he could claim justifiable homicide- or temporary insanity at the very least- when he found and killed whoever had ingrained in Tony's head that no one could possibly care about him. They'd done a damn good job of it too.

Gibbs continued seething in silence, all the while maintaining his white knuckle grip on the steering wheel until his pulled in to his driveway. His sideway glance revealed the fear and uncertainty in DiNozzo's eyes, even though his face was a mask of nonchalance, and he could have kicked himself a hundred times over.

Jethro caught the younger man's hand as Tony moved to release his seatbelt, "Tony, they couldn't have been more wrong."

"Who?"

"Whoever it was that told you that no one would ever care about you- that you didn't deserve to be loved."

Tony couldn't keep the shocked look off his face, how had Gibbs known? How could his Boss have possibly known that his father had said those exact words to him nearly every day of his life from the day his mother had died to the day DiNozzo Sr. had disowned his son completely.

"I-" Tony shook his head vehemently at his own inability to come up with a believable denial. "Of course, I-" his second attempt ended in a heavy sigh. Finally, he settled for the truth, "no one's made a liar out of him yet."

Gibbs didn't even bother counting to ten at that point; he was going to get this through his agent's thick skull no matter what. His grip on Tony's wrist tightened to the point of being painful. "Damn it Tony, that's _bullshit_ and you know it! You've had a family here for almost two years now! Abby, Ducky, me- hell, probably even Kate- _we're_ your family. We care about you- we _love_ you and we're going to be there for you, no matter what." Piercing blue eyes pinned the younger man to the passenger seat, "understand?"

DiNozzo's eyes went wide; it took several minutes but the acceptance slowly over-powered the disbelief, "got it, Boss."

"You sure?"

"Yeah Boss, I'm sure," Tony stated, a genuine smile blooming over his face.

Gibbs returned the smile, "good, because it's 0430 and I say it's time for bed."

"Thank God," Tony's head dropped back against the head rest of the car seat. "As long as we're doing this whole honestly thing: I'm exhausted and I hurt like hell."

Jethro laughed appreciatively, "that mean you're going to stop being stubborn and actually let me help you?" The look he got in response was one that clearly asked '_what the hell kind of a stupid question is that?_'. "Fine, just don't come crying to me when you fall flat on your face then."

It took nearly half an hour, but finally Tony was fed, showered, and being tucked into the spare bed by Gibbs. The ex-Marine couldn't seem to shake the knowledge that he could have very easily lost Tony tonight; he watched silently as DiNozzo snuggled into the overly-fluffy bedding. He'd always hated this bed- something his 3rd ex-wife had insisted they needed, but he had no doubt that Tony's battered body was appreciating it's softness right now.

Tony was quickly losing the battle with the Sand Man, but he perked up somewhat when a comforting hand was dropped onto his shoulder.

"I'm going to go work on the boat for awhile; holler if you need anything."

He nodded slightly as he relaxed further into the snuggly warmth. "Hey Boss?"

"Yeah Tony?"

DiNozzo poked one green eye above the thick comforter to gage his boss's reaction. "You really never sleep while I'm under cover?"

"What do you think?"

Jethro's words were ambiguitous, but his tone told Tony everything he had wanted to hear. "I think I'm going to sleep, Boss. See you in the morning."

Gibb's couldn't help an amused chuckle as he closed the bedroom door part way, "Good night, Tony."

**So, I was planning on this being the last chapter, but now I'm thinking I might write one more with a bit of a role reversal in it. Please let me know what you think of the idea.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, my muse appears to have deserted me, so I'm not real happy this the way this turned out but nothing more is forthcoming. Hope you liked the story and thanks for all the kind words.**

DiNozzo bolted upright in the unfamiliar bed, immediately hissing out a breath as pain flared through his shoulder and ribs.

Something had woke him up, the only question was what; never one to ignore his instincts, Tony struggled out of bed and pulled on a pair of Gibbs's sweats and a faded USMC t-shirt. He quickly reached for his gun on the nightstand; just because this was Gibbs's house didn't mean he was about to let it be broken into. Tony heard it again just as he reached the bedroom door. Someone was yelling, but the sound was muffled through various floors and doors of the house and he was unable to make out what was being said. DiNozzo threw caution to the wind, racing through the house as fast and as quietly as he could with a broken ankle. He may not be able to make out what was being said, but he'd know that voice anywhere- it was Gibbs.

Tony's Sig led around the door frame to the basement stairs, quickly followed by his head and shoulders.

"Tony! NO!"

DiNozzo froze for a fraction of a second, before ducking down to see into the basement. He could have swore he almost heard- anguish? in his Boss's voice; not really an emotion you'd expect to hear when someone was fighting off a burglar. Sure enough, all his bravado had been for naught; Gibbs lay sound asleep beneath his boat, apparently in the clutches of a vivid nightmare.

He quickly put the safety back on his gun and hopped down the stairs; he'd heard that you shouldn't wake someone having a nightmare, but the look of total devastation on Gibbs face had Tony questioning that bit of logic. He squeezed between the ribs of the boat and lowered himself down next to his agitated boss.

"Oh God, Tony-"

Tony winced at his tone; that was not a Gibbs tone. He reached out to lay a hand on the sleeping man's shoulder, "I'm right here, Boss, and I'm fine."

Surprisingly, Jethro settled immediately and slowly peeled his eyes open. He lay there staring up at his agent, drinking in the sight of him, for nearly a minute before his brain caught up to the present time and place. The nightmare had been horrid- Tony getting tossed from the plane over and over again in every possible expressive detail and of course, none of the scenarios ended with his fully open chute carrying him safely to the ground below. Gibbs continued to watch him, feeling the reassuring warmth of Tony's hand still on his shoulder as he silently told himself that none of it had been real; DiNozzo had been pushed out of the plane, but his exceptional instincts had kicked in and he'd done everything he needed to do to get himself down to the ground alive and in one piece. Speaking of which…

The former Marine quickly pulled himself into the upright position and sent a glare in Tony's direction. "What in the hell do you think you're doing out of bed," he glanced down at his agent's bare feet, "-and without the boot on? Ducky would have your head."

Tony let out a small chuckle, relieved that Gibbs was back to his good old surly self. "Well, considering all the yelling you were doing, I figured that there was someone in the house and you wouldn't mind me not taking the time to put on right then."

"Oh." At least Gibbs had the decency to look sheepish.

"I take it I had a role in your nightmare." It was a statement more than a question.

Jethro squirmed uncomfortably under his agent's gaze. Hell, he'd already talked more about his feelings that night than he had in the last few months, a little more couldn't hurt and Tony needed to hear this a lot more than it would hurt him to say it. "Thought I lost you up there tonight, scared the shit out of me." He took a deep breath, forcing the last tendrils of his fear back down where they belonged. "Unfortunately, that's not a feeling that goes away quickly, hence the- uh- bad dream. I'm sorry I woke you up, you really do need your rest."

"Boss, I'm fine-"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow.

Tony sighed; there was no winning with his Boss. "Alright, so I'm a little banged up. My point is, this family thing you've been talking about is a two way street; there are times even big brothers need to be taken care of." He returned his hand to Gibbs's shoulder, "I needed to make sure you were alright." It was Tony's turn to raise an eyebrow, "so…"

Gibbs shrugged, "I can't say the dreams are gone for good, but I do feel better."

"Guess that's all I can ask for."

Both men broke out into slightly uncomfortable smiles at the strangeness of the situation.

Tony quickly cleared his throat, "So Abby's definitely the baby of the family; you think Kate will ever fit in there somewhere?"

"Give her a few months and I'm sure she'll slide right in there between you and me."

DiNozzo was silent for a minute as he tried to decide whether or not he was offended that Gibbs felt he would play younger brother to Kate's older sister. Eventually figuring that it would be more fun that way, he looked back at Gibbs with an evil glint in his eye. "So, where's that leave Ducky in this crazy little family unit we've got going: father figure?"

Gibbs couldn't help but cringe as the two men shared a laugh, "God I hope not."


End file.
